A story about a dog, a cat and a hamster…
I love the computer animated films. And this movie is a highlight in the Disney arsenal. Although it runs a tad long (like “Wall-E”), my kids loved this movie and so did I.
Bolt is a white canine who stars in a television show. He has super-dog powers that help him and his person, Penny, escape the evil clutches of the man with one green eye. The only thing is, he doesn’t really have super powers. But he doesn’t realize that…until one day he escapes from his soundstage in Hollywood and then finds himself lost in the real world in a box heading for New York City. From there it’s a race to get back to Penny. Along the way he recruits a cat, some pigeons and a hamster in a ball to get him back to Hollywood. Of course, along the way, he learns a bunch about himself and the world that he lives in.
Maybe it’s me, but it seems that Hollywood is getting this animation thing down. There has been a slew of great animated films come out recently (Wall-E, Kung-Fu Panda) and, with Pixar leading the way, Disney seems to be heading in the right direction with this little tale. It helps that the little girl and Bolt remind me of my daughter and our dog, Barkley! 🙂
Voices by celebrities John Travolta and Miley Cyrus are good, but the highlight is the guy who voices “Rhino” the hamster. Apparently “visual development artist” Mark Walton was the “practice” voice for the character while they searched for a celebrity to do the voice. But he did it so well, the makers of the film decided to keep him as the voice! Great story!
I highly recommend this film and you should, as always, take your kids (or your neighbor’s kids) to see this, otherwise you’re the strange, older person who is watching a kids movie. “Bolt” is a class act!
Overall Rating: A-
Popcorn And A Soda 